Guest Post by Bernadette Kazmarski
It’s never welcome news when a friend’s cat is ill, especially when the friend is a skilled caregiver providing all the requirements for a healthy life. Logic or intuition, or both, may warn you that only the most virulent diseases could get through the defenses your friend has provided her cat, and the outcome may not be good.
On May 13, our friend Ingrid King said goodbye to her precious Amber. Ingrid always described Amber as “a wise old soul in a feline body”, quiet, loving, gentle, purring constantly, providing comfort and support for her human mom though times of great change and other loss.
You could see Amber’s inner peace in any photo of her, always composed and calm. A tortoiseshell cat, Amber had the typically unique markings, and Ingrid found her name from the heart-shaped amber spot on the top of Amber’s head.
I’ve gotten to “know” Amber through reading her posts on Ingrid’s blog, The Conscious Cat, in Amber’s Mewsings, but I feel as if I just “met” Amber through reading Ingrid’s book, Buckley’s Story: Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher. I really appreciated getting to know the loving and free-spirited Buckley who inspired Ingrid to change her career and then to write the book, but always in the background was Amber, quietly providing support and love, never questioning, always devoted to Ingrid. I’ve known cats like her, and aside from all the other lessons in the book I came away loving Amber very much.
A chronic illness can prepare you for a loss, but an acute disease, especially with non-specific symptoms, can send you and your veterinarian scrambling for answers, and the loss can be a shock. After noticing some non-specific symptoms about ten days ago she began treating Amber for laryngitis and coaxing her to eat, but Amber ended up in feline intensive care and was diagnosed with a virulent calcivirus, complicated by an underlying heart condition.
Ingrid has also been a supportive mentor for me as I’ve learned social networking, blogging and using Facebook.
It’s hard to believe Amber gone so quickly, and Ingrid and her new kitten Allegra must be feeling very lost, so my household will send them love.
Bernadette Kazmarski is a a multi-faceted creative spirit: artist, writer, graphic designer, painter, animal advocate, environmentalist. From commissioned pet portraits to animal inspired merchandise ranging from prints to textiles to greeting cards, looking around Bernadette’s websites is a feast for the senses:
http://www.bernadette-k.com/
http://portraitsofanimals.wordpress.com/)
Thanks, Esme – and thank you for the lovely tribute you put up on your blog. The support from blogging friends like you has been such a comfort in these dark days.
Thank you for your condolences, Old Kitty – so very much appreciated.
Hi Ingrid
I came over from Chocolate and Croissants blog. I am truly sorry for your loss of the very sweet and wonderful Amber. Please accept my deepest sympathies. It is a very painful and awful feeling to lose such a precious furry friend. Take care
x
Ingrid- I know that no words will ever offer you solace for your loss of Amber. I am in absolute shock and feel your grief. I am so sorry. Love from Esme, Penelope and Magellan.
I’m looking to capture the essence of each of my treasures in a photo. You seem to have the knack of capturing that with your kitties, Ingrid. I think that’s what makes us feel like we know them so well, even if we’ve never met in person. Photos will keep her close, always.
Thanks, Layla. The thought of Domino mourning Amber makes me so sad…
Continued feline and human hugs on their way from us….
Bernadette captured the essence of loss with her words and useful link. Photos remain precious keepsakes.
I just came in from the garden and heard a plaintive cry in the distance. I followed the sounds and there was Domino in the neighbor’s garden all alone, calling out to no one, or maybe it was to Amber…
Napping in the sun was one of her favorite things, Bernadette. I will always regret that the last few hours she spent at home were on a cloudy day. She never got to savor her favorite sunny spots after she went into the hospital. Mother’s Day was the last day she was able to enjoy the sun.
I’m so grateful for all the photos I have of her. I’ve always found photos comforting after loss.
We won’t soon forget her, that’s for sure. I am really enjoying all the photos you found, Ingrid. She loved her naps in the sun, didn’t she?
Thanks, Marg and Mason. Your support means so much.
Laura, I don’t think I realized how many lives Amber touched through this site and through Buckley’s Story until I received this outpouring of support following her passing. It is comforting to know that she had such an impact.
Wonderfully written, and you captured in words what so many of us are feeling: we came to know Amber thru “her” blog postings and in Ingrid’s book too. I found Amber’s calm presence so intriguing. Her presence is what Ingrid needs most right now, and that is why this hurts so much, and why so many of us are mourning Amber’s loss. Thanks for your words Bernadette.
Wonderful tribute. Sending prayers and thoughts to Ingrid and Allegra.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
That was very well said Bernadette. It is a horrible horrible thing to lose an animal. It is a very sad thing to happen. Hugs to Ingrid.